Chương 45

Fiya chewed her lips as she waited breathlessly. Her throat ached from thirst, scraped by the dust in the sand. Everyone's eyes fixated on Farki Jan. The observer's eyes were closed, and his breath was uneven. Each sharp breath tensed their nerves, and exhaling eased them. They were all battered, broken, and internally collapsing. If hell were real, it couldn't be worse than their current situation.

To fight those nightmares every day, rest a few hours, their sustenance was destroying their body internally, and now they were without an experienced hand to guide them forward. All that not to find salvation, but a respite, while gazing upon their actual goal, barred by a chasm of the endless wasteland of death and storm. And if they somehow succeeded, it wouldn't amount to much. How had they been trekking for six days already? Fiya couldn't think of taking another step. The ash storm began to wilt.

In a few minutes, it fully settled. Still, they were all still, as if moving would attract another centipede, and if it did, they would not prevail. Among the carcasses of twenty-eight centipedes, whose blood mixed with the sand and slowly turned into steam from the heat that smelled like mud of rotting corpses, they were heaving for breath. It was the worst day yet. Yet! Tomorrow, it will be worse. Probably thirty-three, if not thirty-four. It had been only twenty-nine today; one was inside Liesel's starved body.

"They are gone," Farki Jan uttered, collapsing on his knees. As he breathed, he vomited black sludge from his mouth.

"It's over..." The last nine centipedes were the worst. No one was prepared to handle the tenacity of these demons. These were stronger than the ones they faced the first night. Fiya had no confidence that the Dostrike that killed one of the demons on the first day would achieve the same result today. It might injure one, but it was far from sufficient power to completely kill them.

"Soul Severance sure is something," Garvin chuckled. Or scoffed, or both. He was on the sand as well, lying on his back without a care in the world. His eyes were settled on the centipede, admiring the demon he had killed.

"It's a deceptive thing," Jaisel whispered.

"Even knowing what it does, just seeing the frequency with which it was used, you tend to forget how conquering its lethality is."

"It shouldn't look like a swing of a blade. That's the most annoying thing about it," Charbil chimed in. Garrol's healing had already come undone, and there was more damage to his body. His right hand was completely black from a different click. Fiya hadn't seen him lift it once. It was just there, hanging from his shoulder.

"We are fortunate we had help; without that, we'd not have seen the end of the first day." Fiya dragged her eyes away from Charbil and the others, most of whom bore a hideous wound or two that gripped Fiya's heart with a pincer. Yehia was the finest. No wounds. At least on the surface. Her Soul Veins must be on the verge of collapsing from how much magic she had used today. Fiya's eyes also dragged from Yehia's pleasant state to the woman behind her, by the wall. She can still be saved. Don't abandon her.

Fiya snapped her head to the right. There was a puff of smoke there. Was that... If she hadn't seen the smoke, she'd have thought it was an illusion. The echoes of the spirit's words lingered in her mind. She didn't have to tell anyone about it right now, when no one had proposed such a thing, and Fiya believed they would never suggest it. After everything you've done, there's no way anyone would abandon your body here.

"Do you think we can cook it?" Garvin asked, his eyes still fixed on the centipede.

"Are you out of your mind?" Yehia shook her head.

"We already had that conversation." It was more of an argument, and of course, it was out of desperation for food. The centipedes were mutated by the tainted Materiality of the tomb. Even if that was not enough to kill them, the parasites of the unknown creature most definitely would.

"Yeah, but does it matter?" Garvin said.

"We are done. If there's one more that comes out of the ground, whether today or tomorrow, we have nothing. And they will come tomorrow! I'd rather eat something and sleep with a full belly and never wake up again. Why go through another day of nightmare when there's nothing beyond it? It's just hell, and I'd rather be over it."

"You can eat it," Yehia scoffed.

"Try chewing on their raw organs, and we can watch you vomit yourself to death."

"We are already dead! There's nothing there," Garvin sat up, pointing to the north as he spat blood.

"It's all just the same. We are an insect in a jar. There's no escaping it unless you think the Ash Lord will eventually pity us and throw us out. By doing this, we are just giving him what he wants."

"You know what it wants? Gloat as he watched us swallow raw innards of an unknown creature and miserably die," Yehia replied.

"Even if there is nothing at the end of the road," Jaisel said, "We can struggle until tomorrow. Then, we can let our fate be decided by the demons in a battle of life or death. Today, it is ours to decide; we have earned it with our blood. I am not choosing death after everything we have done to live as long as we have. It is a miracle that we are alive, and we must cherish it until the last moment."

"Miracle? It's a sick joke. We are rotting! I don't see the point in going any further." He fell back on the sand, admiring his hunt. Fiya was frowning. No one had mentioned Liesel yet. She knew why she didn't. What was she supposed to say? But once the silence took hold, their eyes were all drawn towards the functioning leader of the expedition.

"Start moving," Kurvam said as he also noticed where everyone's focus shifted to. He looked fine. Neither their food nor this battle seemed to have taken an extreme toll on him, when compared to the rest of the expedition.

"We will rest before the next storm. Get on your feet!" No one said anything. One by one, everyone got back to their feet. They had to walk, after all, and they didn't have the energy to fight Kurvam right now. Fiya looked at Yehia, who didn't say much. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Move!" Kurvam snarled again. He seemed cheery, almost.

"You will have the time to rest when I am tired." Fiya couldn't fathom how his mind worked. What had rotted his core to this degree? What was the point of feeling like a ruler over beyond-exhausted few? But she didn't want to confront him right now. She fished for Materiality Cores in her pocket, but they were all spent and empty. Fiya closed her eyes, heaving.

"We have to extract their cores," Fiya said in a small voice that only Garvin heard. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she spoke again, "We have to extract their cores. We won't have the energy for tomorrow without them." Kurvam scratched his chin.

"We don't have the time to waste two hours on it. It's not like you'd be useful after the first real spell. Better we bet we find the Primordial Vein before then. Start moving." Kurvam's eyes shifted from Fiya to Liesel's body.

"There's no way she used all of them. Take some from her." Fiya frowned at him.

"Move already!" Fiya flinched. She stepped back as he took a step towards her.

"Take the cores from her." Fiya nodded. She slowly walked towards Liesel, who was not dead yet.

"I will do it," Yehia said. She settled beside Liesel and took the bag of Cores from the belt.

"While you are there, take her sword too," Kurvam said, "And if there's something else worth carrying. Except for money, that's basically useless." Grave robber, Fiya bit her lower lip as she reached Yehia's side and lowered herself beside her.

"She has two," Yehia said, fishing out the functioning cores. Is that enough?

"We have to kill him," Fiya whispered in a low voice.

"What?" Yehia frowned.

"He's not going to wait for Liesel to wake up. So I will use a Dostrike to kill him."

"That's reckless. If you miss... besides, she's not going to wake up. Her soul is withering."

"I know... I know, but..." Fiya didn't know if she could tell Yehia about Auram.

"There's a way to save her. We will have to wait for it to work. At least another hour."

"What is that?" Yehia narrowed her eyes.

"It feels too late for any magic to work."

"I... cannot tell you."

"Get up already! She's dead. Stop mourning like children; we are supposed to be an expedition team. Deaths are a matter of fact. Start working your legs now," Kurvam said. He clicked his tongue.

"Why did they choose so many immature children for this?"

"Will it work?" Yehia asked as she straightened.

"I don't know," Fiya said honestly.

"Okay," Yehia nodded. She was no longer whispering.

"We will wait."

"What did you say?" Kurvam's eyes were glowing with glee.

"You can go ahead if you want, but I am going to stay by Liesel's side until she is still there."

"That's like hours," Kurvam gestured at his sword, grinning.

"Or I can try Soul Severance. I am sure she'd appreciate my effort. I mean, she did the worst for Sarkot, didn't she?"

"Every time I think you are getting better, you just have to show how dismorphed your hideousness is," Yehia shook her head.

"Just leave. You are no longer our leader, but anyone who wants to follow you can feel free to."

"Everyone's coming with me," Kurvam said, as he stomped his feet, sending a shiver of Materiality through the sand. It was strong.

"Or I can lay your body beside her. And you can all decompose away hand in hand." Yehia tilted her head.

"Do you want to play?" She was siphoning Materiality from the Core without any effort.

"If you want all our struggle to end in this farce, so be it." Yehia handed another Core into Fiya's hand.

"I will give you an opening, but he's not the target."

"Are you serious?" Jaisel asked as Yehia shifted her eyes to Kurvam again.

"You are not considering taking his side, are you?" Jaisel was quiet. Yehia raised a brow.

"Bastard."

"I will stand on the side. Whoever wins, I will heed their demand."

"Fuck you, narcissistic piece of shit," Yehia spat on the sand, readying her spear. Fiya stared at Jaisel in disbelief.

"Why?"

"Liesel was clear in her demand. We must be most efficient, heartlessly so, if we are to survive. Now that her command is gone, we must weed out all the unaligned elements right now, and proceed forward with understanding that survival is our only goal. Emotions should not have any role anymore. You must understand, this is what Liesel, too, would've wanted." Fiya did remember Liesel's warning.

It was ironic how she created the atmosphere where Jaisel didn't even seem guilty for saying those words; he was almost proud, even though he was basically saying Yehia should be killed for not following Kurvam's order and refusing to abandon their friend and leader behind.

"I thought you were a good man," Fiya shifted her eyes away from him. I was wrong. Liesel was right. They'd have abandoned me in a beat of a heart if I were useless.

"She is our only source of sustenance," Jaisel reminded Kurvam.

"If you kill her, that would be our death sentence." Fiya's blood was boiling. It shouldn't have been so rage-inducing. Jaisel was being pragmatic, but it felt inhumane to hear a word from him. Fiya siphoned materiality from the core, settling her attention on her opponents. It was not Kurvam who was worrying her, but the man behind him. Verka, who hadn't said a word, but who would most definitely be the reason for their demise. Fiya considered for a moment before deciding she should at least let him know.

Maybe it was foolish, and she should be pragmatic like them. But seeing what that looked like, it sickened her to her stomach.

"You should get out of the way, Verka. I don't want to kill you, but if it's a must, I will not hesitate." If there was a silver lining, it was that everyone was too exhausted, so Garvin and the others hadn't taken a side. Perhaps in that way, Jaisel's decision was for their benefit. Surely, Garvin would've taken Kurvam's side, and that would make the already difficult fight even more difficult. Garrol, however, was picking up his sword.

"If it is a must, I will join by my friend's side."

"Don't," Yehia said, "Just stand on the side. In this fight, you will be a hindrance."

"I am going to fucking kill you, and then feed your head to worms with my hand!" Just as Kurvam dashed, a ward manifested in front of him, wrapping around his ankle. His balance tilted, and he fell face-first into the sand. Verka created a platform to press on him, rendering him completely immobile against the blood-streaked sand. Fiya blinked in surprise.

"Lucky bitch," Yehia chuckled.

"What are you doing?" Kurvam glowered.

"You traitorous bastard! Finally showing your true colours."

"We cannot afford unnecessary bloodshed. If there is a path to survival, it must come with understanding."

"Then ask them for understanding, not me!" Kurvam's fingers dug into the sand, and the platform pressed a little deeper.

"You nasty piece of work," Yehia shook her head, and dropped her spear.

"Taking away my chance to rip a hole through your heart." Fiya stopped channeling Materiality. She glanced at Liesel as she lowered to her knees, heaving. Fiya's Soul Veins were burning again. She had just recovered, and she might lose her ability once again. Would she abandon me just like them? Knowing her, she'd probably kill me first. Fiya knew Auram would be reaching out to her again, so she decided to wander a bit away from the rest of the team.

When Yehia asked, Fiya said she wanted distance from the carnage of the Materiality that still haunted the area. They also brought Liesel away from the area. About an hour later, Auram brought a freezing-cold vial of liquid. It was deep red, and the concentration of Materiality inside it sent a shiver down Fiya's spine.

"What is this?"

"It's a healing potion," Auram said, "Sort of. I am not an alchemist, but it should heal Liesel."

"Her soul is already past that point, though," Fiya said.

"It is, but... there's something special in it. Maybe it can do it," Auram shook her head.

"Just give it to her. It should start working almost instantly."

"How did you even find it?" Fiya asked.

"Liesel knows an Alchemist... I just wish she was a little more proactive in asking for help. It wouldn't have come to this." Fiya nodded.

"That, I strongly agree. You should let her know when she wakes up." The spirit smiled. Fiya's heart lifted a little, filled with hope.

"I am sure she will wake and then find a way out of this nightmare."

"I am sure she will." She made her way back to the rest of them. Their eyes were instantly drawn to the potion. Farki Jan seemed to have felt it already, so he didn't seem as surprised as the rest. He might ask how it manifested. Fiya hadn't considered that part yet. She just learned about the potion's existence a moment before the rest.

"What is that?"

"It might heal Liesel," Fiya said.

"Where did you get it from?" Yehia asked with a frown. They hadn't told Yehia about the food and water either. Fiya swallowed.

"It's a shade creature who listens to my requests."

"You requested that thing?" Yehia said suspiciously.

"There's no way that's standard by any stretch of the imagination. How would you know?"

"We can worry about that later," Fiya said, kneeling in front of Liesel. Yehia propped Liesel's head up. Fiya settled the vial on her lower lip and tilted it into her mouth. Instantly, they felt all the energy trapped inside it course through Liesel's body.

"Please wake up..." Fiya whispered.